Communications

     Months after federal agents burst into a weekend event at the La Catedral horse racing arena in Wilder, ID, Rosseli Guerrero was still waking in the middle of the night from occasional nightmares, her mind racing with scenes of masked men and crying children. And she hadn’t even been there. She was among the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho (ACLU of Idaho) staff who answered an emergency hotline the organization quickly created after the raid to help families locate detained loved ones and offer support.​

     Children’s voices now haunt her the most. Often an eldest daughter or son made those first frantic calls, translating if needed, and many struggled to keep their composure. Sometimes, the children themselves had witnessed what’s become known as the Wilder raid, one of a growing number of immigration actions to employ military-style tactics. More than 200 officers descended on the roughly 400 people attending the popular gathering, wielding military rifles, firing rubber bullets, separating families, and zip-tying children and adults alike.

     The aggression used there has played out elsewhere, most notoriously in Operation Metro Surge on the wintery streets of the Twin Cities. There the tactics have stirred tension, especially after agents fatally shot two demonstrators in separate incidents mere weeks apart. From Wilder and Minneapolis to rural and urban areas across the country, fear has permeated far beyond those targeted for deportation. And the militant, sometimes violent, actions of federal agents have generated not just detentions and arrests, but also a deep unease. Yet these same conditions have spurred organizing, legal advocacy, and community support.